Francesca and Sharkey

My recent photos of the plantings in my urns

Last spring, I posted a blog about planting my urns at Skylands, my home in Maine. I am happy to report that those urns grew successfully and I now have some recent photos to show you. I also have new pictures of some very different plantings taken at my home in East Hampton. Those urns also did extremely well. Sadly, it's the end of the growing season and time to empty the plant material and store both plants and urns for the winter.

1 This monumental Eric Soderholtz planter was created before 1930, in Gouldsboro Maine. I found the pot in an antiques store in Maine - Bob Withington's. It was planted in June with exotics including giant alocasia and succulents.

2 A closer ciew of the same pot - there are two on my terrace.

3 A Gertrude Jekyll-type pot filled with oversize succulents - They were planted in June, and by Sept/Oct had attained a very good size.

4 An early Eric Soderholz planter filled with succulents, aloe, and cordyline - One of a pair, this large bowl sits on a wall of my terrace at Skylands.

5 The same pot - different view

6 The same pot - different view

7 The mate to the former pot - set in front of a kiwi vine climbing on my house.

8 Another shallow cement planter filled with well-grown plants

9 A beautiful faux bois urn with a single planting

10 The garden at Lily Pond reaches it peak - when? In October! The turquoise blue pots, collected over the years, were planted with several varieties of alocasia. The ones in the back are giagantic this year, underplanted with caladiums and dicohndra.

11 This alocasia is smaller in height but the very beautiful fabric-like leaves are highly defined with many shades of green.

12 The pool perimeter pots were planted with scented geraniums and kalanchoe.

13 The pool perimeter pots were planted with scented geraniums and kalanchoe.

14 Two kalanchoes in one pot - the pockets are planted with small succulents.

15 This is one of the pockets.

16 Caladiums from Home Depot grew very well, as did the dicondra, which was tiny in June, when we planted it.

17 These plants are almost nine feet tall!

18 A view of one pot with a hydrangea pee gee in the distance

19 The pool is surrounded with bluestone and brick, on which we can set the big planted pots. The pee gees are a welcome shade of mauve this time of year.